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Yes! OH YES! Kazehana get! She totally commanded the episode and showed all her womanly charms, which made everyone else looking like girl scouts. Yukana, who we interviewed back in 07, performed outstandingly in this episode with some ass-kicking, some good ol’ fashion naked-apron loving and all the other goodies that makes a mature woman attractive – no BS, just right. As Kazehana would say, “when you love someone, you just do it.”

As ridiculous as the concept of the show is – it’s a glorified harem show – having characters with perky and fun personalities always highlights the other strengths of the show. But here’s a really important tip even for men in real life: being manly and brave even if you’re really just a powerless wuz physically really impresses the ladies. Even if they laugh at your attempts of being manly, taking charge at the appropriate times as a man should really helps. As David DeAngelo would say, women don’t feel attraction toward wussies. Constantly telling a girl how much you like her really doesn’t help. Then again, it’s an anime and it’s Sekirei, as long as you’re the main character or the right audience, what do you care? XD

Now we know Sahashi’s mom works for MBI. Interesting, so I guess of course it’s not a coincidence that somehow he gets the most Sekirei. His mom hooked him up somehow! That’s a cool mom.

The relationship dynamic between Karasuba and Musubi is quite interesting. Musubi looks very much like her minion in this episode and it seems like she’s in on some scheme that Karasuba is planning. What would it be? Is it simply just a relationship between a mentor and a student?

Man, I can’t wait to see Kazehana’s outlandish antics next episode. This show offers fun little treats every step of the way since season one and having girls that are so easy on the eyes really boosts its value. You’d have to be a harem-comedy hater to hate it.

My roommate, having exhausted some of the current shows this season, was looking for some other anime to watch. Some time ago, when we were trawling through the anime section of Best Buy, I saw Maburaho and suggested that he might like it. Well, last night, we decided to finally check out the first three episodes. Here are some observations.

This feels more like Love Hina as a harem show than, say, a more “modern” example like Baka Test.

I was still relatively new to anime in 2003, which is when this show was released. I remember that it was considered extremely racy for its time. Now, in the Kanokon-Queens Blade-Seikon no Quasar age it looks rather tame.

The only little sister-like character we encountered so far (episode 3) was not really fetishized. The imouto loli lovin’ hadn’t quite begun yet at all.

There was a startling amount of plot accomplished in the first episode, more than I expected. Not that it’s a good plot, mind you–it’s as full of holes as any show of its ilk–but until the mindless haremette chasing begins in the second half it felt kinda, well, meaty. In both senses of the word.

The pacing seemed a bit slower, almost limp by today’s standards. Or was it unusually slow for its time too?

It’s a testament to how things change so fast these days that a show that is merely seven years old already feels like it comes from another time: before Haruhi, before the wholesale moe takeover, etc. Though of course the formula is pretty well in place.

We watched some Rosario + Vampire after that, and in the space of five years, the animation quality, the action styles, and even the introduction of snarky self-referential humor: all were in place for a “current” anime.

Now I’m told that this show becomes a lot more than just a harem comedy later on. I’m not sure I’m interested enough to check it out further, but the experience was instructive. Or, I could be generalizing irresponsibly based on a tiny sample size. What do you think?

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From watching the PV (below), I was not impressed for some reason. I see a lot of girls, one magical girl, hear Batou (Akio Ohtsuka) and something that seem fairly stereotypical. I guess I was watch all these PVs at the same time without any subtitle (I didn’t use the one below). The addition of Pokemon/Yugioh style battles seemed childish and dumb at the time.

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Well, episode 6 really wasn’t anything special. Not bad, just more of the same. The cast rounds out a bit more with the introduction of Kotone and Akari Kirishima, the twin daughters of the local (somewhat lecherous yet kindly) monk. Typical twin story elements occur (mistaking one for the other and etc.) as Kotone is attracted to Junpei because of his misfortune (maybe she’s a reverse vampire?) and Akari beating him up thinking he is a pervert.

Additionally the story from episode 5 continues with Mizuno trying to figure out if Junpei really feels the way Nagi told her he does, and what exactly his relationships with all these other woman truly are. That said.. nothing really develops on that front that wasn’t already established last episode aside from two new characters (the twins) to be confused by. Sadly, Nagi and Kanako have little screen time this episode as well. I say sadly because they are by far the most interesting characters in Nyan Koi (along with Junpei). They deserve more screen time.

Animation this time around is still great, though some might be upset because of the blatantly censored out pantsu shots. I wonder what they will do for episode 7 which looks to be the hot springs episode every comedic anime is required to have at least one of.

Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom! I’m in despair! I’m in despair that this show is finally admitting of being a harem show!

Oh boy, Segoku’s the appearance in this episode really doesn’t serve any purpose at all. I mean, if you think it does then please tell me, but the way I see it, Sengoku Nadeko shows up to be a loli moe service blob and Araragi just acts out (almost) the desire that all Japanese school girl lovers need to express. Oh and don’t forget, Shinobu or whatever her real name is, stares at Senjogahara and Sengoku with jealous eyes but gazes at Araragi and Oshino with loving eyes!

Like a good young, innocent harem girl, Nadeko simply doesn’t seem to understand how close she is to be raeped by him.

Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom! I’m in despair! I’m in despair because the most interesting character isn’t showing up again!

Um…Senjogahara has to be the most interesting character in this show with her charming wit, whether you’re FASCINATED with her or not (I’m OK), but she isn’t here again. I think her seiyuu, Saito Chiwa, is sick and can perform. Unless the story calls SJgR to be absent and then come back to question all Araragi’s acts shared with all the other girls or calls her to act like Akari from To Heart one anime, I think something smells like cat’s poo here.

So. I was wrong about Tsubasa’s vast knowledge has something to do with a monster. We see a more serious problem – a problem that doesn’t seem to make sense at all to me – that her mom’s new husband and her dad’s new wife are her parents now. If that isn’t bad enough, they’re Japanese people in the harsh society they’re in. Or to put it precisely, the weight falls squarely on Tsubasa’s shoulders. She’s a child with potentially “problematic” family and God knows how many jeers and snickers she has heard from others? But she was inspired to be an excellent student and she probably worked her ass off while enduring stress from all directions.

However, the issue lies deep within her family. One smack on the face may be the indication that there has been many more abuses; or it may not. It is anime so take everything with a grain of salt. FYI, parents in Asia used to exert more physical punishments on their kids, at least in Taiwan, and most kids grew up OK. But in any case…

Hanekawa Tsubasa’s story happened before Senjogahara’s story, and you know, not too much unlike a certain murderous anime romance story, Tsubasa has been doing all she can to help Araragi and Senjogahara to be together and stay together. But as this is a harem show at the core – serious themes or not (harem shows can have very serious themes), you know that she likes Ararararagi’s too.

Her stressed had already exploded during Golden Week. But her headaches haven’t gone away.

Enjoy Hoc-chan’s performance, please.

Because there are so many cats, is it possible that the Cat monster hasn’t gone away for good?

Is this a real disease in her head?

Additional notes: imitating Gainax, this episode has some parts that purposely avoided having to animate character’s lips and other delicate parts. And because it’s imitating Gainax, some of those shots seem to be make sense but for any Evatard out there, as soon as you see those shots/scenes, you’ll begin to wonder.

Play your own version of the music when the hero getting the important item in a game like Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc during the scene where Araragi Koyomi gets the bloomer and Japanese school girl swimsuit for maximum fun~oh and if you have some girls’ intimate wear, please sniff and play with them for maximum humor!

Also, why explain in large texts that a flashback is a flashback? Are we stupid? No. As they say in writing, Show, don’t tell. Flashing texts and all just gets really annoying after a while. What the hell is the point? Because of the last episode, I have been in despair and I can’t trust them at all!

This is what I would love to see – all the bakemono fights over Arararararanenenenennyanyanyanyanonononononunununununyonyonyonyonyonenenenenegi Koyomi in a bakemono-death match in oil and jello! AWESOME! Get sumu get sumu get sumu!

The first episode of Asura Cryin’ is incredibly dense in terms of material. It’s got childhood trauma, self-sacrifice, silly friend antics, social commentary, ghost haunting, high school romantic comedy, family drama, magical girls, split personalities, underground societies, potential harem, and mecha all rolled into one. Did I miss anything?

The story begins with a scene of ruin. The protagonist, Tomo, suffered serious injuries in an accident, and a mysterious magical girlfriend from the Goddess Agency – no, wait, that’s not quite it. A mysterious girl reassured him that he would live, as he lay on a hospital bed. Flash forward to the present. It’s clear that he’s now trying to live a normal life, just as it’s clear that the accident is of great importance and that something mysterious happened. This entire setup happens in under a minute. Asura Cryin’ is efficient.

Fanservice in anime is, in many cases, divorced from actual sex–actual foreplay, actual intent to copulate, have intercourse, do the nasty, get to home plate. Shower scenes, wind on short skirts, awkward positions that happen post-stumble-and-fall: they are almost always presented as accidents.

Well, not in Kanokon. That uniqueness, of course, doesn’t save it from being utter crap.

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This is the first in a series of aggregate episode reviews to make up for not having blogged regularly for such a long time…first up is True Tears, the show that more and more is becoming what Myself; Yourself should have been. It’s got the emotional drama and the character conflict, and manages to have sharp plot turns without quite making it seem as groan-worthy.

The final burial of this show is done expertly, and hilariously, by the makers of the anime themselves. Having once suggested in a very serious audio column that the best way to treat this show is unseriously, there’s no better way to take that advice than to watch and enjoy this fine bit of deconstruction.

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Is it a bad sign when the end of the Kotomi arc reminds me, more than anything else, of the episode of The Simpsons that ripped off Citizen Kane? Not exactly. But there were certain ways in which this ending was less satisfying than it could have been, especially given the good buildup we got. (Be warned that this entire review is essentially a spoiler.)

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This seminarian groaned when he saw what this first line intimated for the rest of the scene.

What? They actually start the whole frickin’ series with that really, really cheesy “Footprints in the Sand” poem I heard all the time growing up in church and is printed in my first, childhood King James Bible? Then again, it is the subtitle of the whole series…and so far, at least, the best I can say of it is: it could be worse.